One Hug Can Ease A Breaking Heart
by treblthescrub
Summary: August 22, 1970. The day Sergeant Jack Martin's third tour in Vietnam comes to an end. A man completely shattered by the wiles of war is given a second chance at life by two young nurses. Please leave a review whenever you can.


**One Hug Can Ease A Breaking Heart**

Today was it. The end of my three years in hell. At 1830, we would hop on a plane back to the United States. My fellow comrades were excited to go home to their families. If their wives were anything mine, they'd find that their wives or girlfriends went and found another man. Cause God forbid they think for themselves.

"Ey! Martin! Your plane is here!" A soldier yelled to me.

"I'll take the last flight home. Where ever it goes..." I responded.

"Last flight goes to Alabama! This is the last flight to Texas!" He called out.

"I know." I responded.

He shrugged and gave the pilot the green light to take off. The plane slowly guided itself onto the runway. The engines began revving up for take off. I watched as the plane jetted down the runway. When it was in the air, I turned my attention back to the ground I stared at. It was red with blood. JT's blood. I had to hold him down as they sawed both of his legs off. He ended up dying of blood loss. We should've known it would happen. He was already profusely bleeding from four gunshot wounds. Yet we still did it. I killed my own friend.

"Hey, you."

I turned around. It was one of the new nurses, Sakura Haruno. Her friend Hinata Hyuuga was close behind.

"Your plane left. Why are you still here?"

"Don't worry about it." I told her.

I strolled my wheelchair away. I took myself to the edge of the riverbed and watched the water run. Sakura watched me from a distance.

"Who is he?" Hinata asked.

"It's the Jack Martin guy," She sighed, "He's always so angry. They said he was legally insane too." She answered.

Hinata turned and began watching me too.

"You've seen men die in your hands but you've never had a relationship with them. If your husband Sasuke died in your arms, you'd hate the world and yourself too. And if Naruto died, you would too." Sergeant Bayaz told the girls.

They turned around to the tall, lanky, black man.

"Martin lost his entire family and ALL of his friends to war. Cpl. McKinley was his friend since elementary. He saved his life before. Yet Martin failed to save his. You've seen men die. Jack's seen it all. Men die, women raped, babies prematurely ripped from the stomach of pregnant women, cooked and eaten. They've torn NVA bodies open and feasted on them like tigers. When they were out in the jungle for months, other humans were the only food they had to eat. He's burned down the villages of innocent people and"

Sakura and Hinata began gagging in disgust.

"This was done by people he trusted. He's killed friends before, both under orders and by accident. I'm just waiting for him to commit suicide. I mean, it's coming. Just look at him." Bayaz explained.

Sakura and Hinata still felt nauseous from the eating premature babies line.

"What happened to those people's humanity!?" She asked.

"Dead with the war. Just like Jack."

Bayaz walked away with nothing left to say.

Sakura thought for a second and said to herself "I wonder if I can help even just a little bit."

She began walking toward me. Hinata hesitated for a second but followed along.

"Hi, Jack. I know what you're feeling-"

"Then you'd leave me alone." I said.

I rolled my wheelchair in a different direction once again. Instead of leaving me alone, she followed me.

"Let me give you something and I'll leave you alone." She offered.

I stopped.

"Make it quick." I sternly said.

She walked over to me, knelt down, wrapped her arms around me, and hugged me gently.

"You know, there are people out there who would cry for you. And would hurt if you died. Somewhere, there's a woman who would be willing to stand by you through thick and thin. If you don't have a family, you can always create one. A family of friends or a family of wife and kids. Or both! You can still have something to live for. Just don't let this depression win." She told me.

I didn't respond. I'd be lying to say I wasn't deeply moved though. I scoffed in an attempt to keep the tears at bay.

"We're rooting for you, Jack!" Hinata cheered.

Sakura let go and gave off a warm smile, then they both parted ways with me. I could only watch in awe.

"Martin! Alabama plane is about to take off!" The soldier warned me.

I strolled my wheelchair to the airplane. I positioned myself on a moving platform, which lifted me and my wheelchair into the airplane. I looked back and took a final look at Vietnam. Sakura and Hinata waved at me and smiled. The flight attendant helped me into my seat and strapped me in. Shortly after, the plane guided itself onto the runway, and began revving his engines up. I watched as the smiles and waves of Sakura and Hinata grew smaller as the distance quickly grew bigger.

I couldn't help but crack a smile.

"Those girls... they're so weird."


End file.
